ENCOMPASS Staff Blog

I’m sure there’s a bunch of folks from camp who have websites (or blogs, or whatever), but here are two from folks that I’m still in contact with who have great websites!

Vincent Chandler - http://www.vincentchandler.com/
Karyn Raz - http://www.karynraz.com/
Charna Cassell - http://www.passionatelife.org/
Brian Joseph - http://brianjosephmusic.com/

I’m sure you’re doing something super cool also, why not send me a link to your website or blog or myspace page? Post it in the comments or send me an email: benwright@encompass.org.

We wanted to let you know that we’ve opened our comments, so please feel free to give us some feedback.

You will have to create a subscriber account for our blog (just username and email). You can do that by clicking on the comments link of a post you’d like to comment on. It will take you to the registration page, where you’ll put your email and user name. A password will be emailed to you (sometimes it gets filtered into the junk filter, so you might want to check there in case it’s not in your inbox.) Once you log in with the password you’ll be able to post comments. Just to note that we will be moderating the comments so they won’t show up right away.

We look forward to hearing from you!

On Friday night, May 11th, Lori, her daughter Nicole, DeLanna Studi (actress from KICK) and I went to the Glasshouse in Pomona to work an ENCOMPASS promotional table at the Ozomatli show. Since we got there early to set up our table and materials, we were treated to hearing OZO’s sound check (which sounded great) and we were even granted a good amount of time to chat with Wil-Dog Abers, the bassist to Ozomatli, before fans came in to the show.

We passed out lots of ENCOMPASS stickers, as well as some flyers and brochures to people as they made their way to and from the OZO merchandise table before the show. During their performance, we were all able to catch a few of the songs and we danced and sang along. Right before OZO ended the show, Will-Dog did a shout out to ENCOMPASS on the microphone and encouraged the audience to come visit our table after the show and sign-up on our mailing list. That was soooooo cool! As a result a concert go-er who also happens to be a counselor, spoke with us after the show and expressed his interest in booking one of the Compassion Plays at his school before the school year ends. We spoke to him on Monday morning and it looks like we will be going to his school soon!

So, not only did we have a wonderful time, but we also got great exposure for ENCOMPASS and booked a show - all from a show! Thanks to Wil-Dog, DeLanna, and Nicole for helping to make it happen.

Southern California’s favorite Latin, hip-hop, rock group Ozomatli is scheduled to perform at local venue on May 11th. AND YOU SHOULD BE THERE!

OZO, as the band is affectionately referred to by fans, formed in 1996 in Los Angeles and have been committed to creative collective collaboration in the writing of their music. They infuse their music with various styles such as salsa, cumbia, jazz, funk, and reggae. Their music often makes bold political statements as members of the band have deep roots in social activism, global human rights and since 2001, especially, in the anti-war movement across the world.

Ozomatli have created three stellar albums during their career: Ozomatli (1998), Embrace the Chaos (2001) and Street Signs (2004) which won a Grammy for the Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album in 2005. Their newest album, Don’t Mess with the Dragon, was released in April 2007.

Having well received performances at The South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas and at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, this summer will find OZO on the road promoting their new album with notable performances expected at The Wakarusa Festival, The Edmonton Folk Festival and Central Park’s Summerstage. On May 11th Southern Californian’s will have the opportunity to see the band perform in one of the most intimate venues in the area, The Glasshouse. Located in Pomona, approximately 25 miles east of Los Angeles, The Glasshouse is an all-ages, general admission venue with a capacity of only 800, and a long history of notable performances from bands: The White Stripes, Rage Against the Machine, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beck, and many more. This venue is the perfect setting to see what will definitely be a powerful, dynamic and infectious performance by OZO. You can get tickets by visiting the Ticketmaster website.

ENCOMPASS staff and volunteers will be at The Glasshouse on May 11th to distribute our promotional materials to concert go-ers before and after the show.